


The Hatter & the Curious

by mysticalxwclf



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Gen, grace has a girlfriend, margot (mentioned), minor grace ouat, ruby and tilly would be great friends, they could go on double dates with their girlfriends, wlw
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-05
Updated: 2020-11-05
Packaged: 2021-03-08 22:28:00
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,639
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27394237
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mysticalxwclf/pseuds/mysticalxwclf
Summary: Once Tilly arrives in Storybrooke after the curse, she seeks to find an old friend.
Kudos: 4





	The Hatter & the Curious

_“Hatter, Hatter? Jefferson, we need to leave now! There’s a curse coming! I can feel it!” The teenager with blonde hair and wide blue eyes said, “Come on, Hatter, let’s go!” She yelled while pulling on his arm._

_All the man could do was stare off in the distance, “I lost her, I lost my wife, Priscilla… I’ll never get her back unless….” He muttered before his eyes finally locked with the blonde-haired girl, “I could take a trip to the Underworld.” He smiled as a plan danced across his eyes._

_The young girl shook her head, “No, you can’t! You have a daughter; you can’t abandon her!” She yelled as a British accent rang out._

_The brunette-haired man shook his head at her statement, “No, I won’t. I’ll make a deal with Hades and bring Grace her mother back.” He explained, “And you can watch her while I’m gone.” He finished with a smile, “I’ll get to see her again!” He laughed like a mad man trying to do the impossible._

_The blonde’s blue eyes widened as she grabbed his shoulders, “No, Jefferson, you can’t leave us!” She shouted with tears in her eyes._

_Jefferson kissed her on the head, “It will only be for a couple of days, Alice. I’ll be back before you both know it.” He reassured with a small smile._

“But you weren’t….” The blonde-haired girl breathed out while holding onto her backpack outside of a town called Storybrooke. She would always get lost in her head then snap back to reality with a response to the dream. Everyone would always look at her weird, thinking _there she goes again, Crazy Tilly_. All she wanted to do was leave that in Hyperion Heights.

Her thoughts then wondered to Margot and how she would miss her. How she was the girl who believed in her. She was the only one who didn’t call her crazy. Tilly thought of running away with her, leaving Hyperion Heights for good one day, but-

Suddenly she heard footsteps and a voice, “Um, hello, who are you?” Tilly’s head snapped in the direction of the voice to find a woman with a sheriff badge who spoke. She had blonde hair, green eyes, dark jeans, and a gold leather jacket. Beside her was a man with dirty blonde hair, blue eyes, jeans, and a plaid shirt with suspenders.

The blonde 23-year-old knitted her eyebrows together before opening her mouth, “Tilly, I was just passing through. I-I’m a traveler and wanted to see what this world has to offer.” She stuttered as she looked between both of them.

Both adults started at each other, then the man spoke, “What this world has to offer, huh? Where are you from?” He asked, wondering how a random young woman could notice the town unless she somehow got away from the curse…...

Tilly gave them both a toothy smile, “I’m from Hyperion Heights!” She then thought for a moment before explaining further, “Well, I’m actually from the Enchanted Forest, well, another Enchanted Forest. I came to see if the Mad Hatter lives here.” She finished while tightening her bag straps with confidence.

The older blonde rose an eyebrow, “We know him. Who were you in the other Enchanted Forest?”

The young woman grinned, “I’m Alice Jones, daughter of Killian Jones and girlfriend of Robin Hood, or Margot if you prefer to call her that.” She finished awkwardly since the original Robin Hood lived in Storybrooke for some time.

The woman with the Sheriff badge sputtered, “Killian Jones?” She then turned back to her father with hopeful eyes, “He’s alive, Dad! I knew he would survive!” She grinned with tears of joy.

Tilly moved the dirt around with her shoe, guilt gnawing at her bones, “He’s gone. He ran away with some woman named Emma Swan.” She answered quietly.

The blonde took a desperate step forward, “But _I’m_ Emma Swan! I’m the savior of Storybrooke who fell in love with him!”

Her father, David put both hands on her shoulder, hoping to snap her back to reality, “Emma, look at me! He was a no-good pirate who was not to be trusted! You’re better off without him, trust me.” He sighed while giving his fatherly advice.

The older woman nodded while looking at her father, “Yeah, you’re right, he left me and doesn’t deserve my love. Thanks, Dad.” She then turned back to the young woman with a small smile, “Hey, how about we go to Granny’s and get you something to eat, Alice.” She said softly while turning around, “It’s been a long day for all of us.”

Tilly nodded softly before following Emma and her father to the diner, “Thank you. I’m starving, actually.”

~~~

As the three entered the restaurant, Ruby looked up and smiled as she moved away from the customer she was serving, “Hello Sheriff, Deputy.” Her smile softened, even more, when her eyes landed on the blonde-haired young woman, “Hello, welcome to Granny’s, I’m Ruby.”

Tilly blushed slightly, Ruby was _very_ pretty, but she had a girl waiting for her at home, maybe they could be friends?

Just as she jumped back to reality, Ruby and the others were already waiting for her at their table, “Uh, sorry!” She called before rushing over and taking a seat across from the older adults.

All Ruby did was smile before starting with her, “What would you like to drink?”

~~~

A man with short dark hair, blue eyes, and a suit studied the table that Ruby was waiting on, _Alice has come back, maybe she remembers and she’s here to find me. That clever girl._ He thought with a soft smile. In a way, Alice was like a second daughter to him, and he would always welcome her home.

After Ruby had walked away with their orders, the man cleared his throat before walking over to the group. Surely Emma and David would have forgiven him by now, right?

Emma was the first one to look up as she saw him out of the corner of her eye, “Jefferson.” The older woman greeted with a small nod, not really wanting to talk to him.

David eyed the Hatter, not wanting to deal with any funny business, “What do you want, Hatter?” The man sighed.

Alice’s eyes darted upward and stared at the man, “Hatter, you’re Jefferson Hatter, aren’t you?” She asked in awe, excitement filling her veins.

Jefferson’s eyes widened, then softened at the young woman, “Hello, Alice. It’s nice to see you again.” He greeted softly with a smile. He would have hugged her, but he didn’t want David to get overprotective.

The young blonde grinned, then jumped up to hug him, “Oh, Jefferson, I finally found you!” She exclaimed while closing her eyes, glad to have another father figure back in her life.

Emma’s eyes widened in realization, “Wait, Alice as in _Alice in Wonderland?_ ” Her eyes then connected to the younger blonde, who nodded her head after pulling away from the hug, “W-wait…you’re not…. Since you’re Killian’s kid…I’m not…” The older blonde trailed off, afraid to ask the question.

The young woman shook her head, “No, my mother is Gothel, or what she likes me to call her _Mother_ Gothel.” She grumbled before grinning at Jefferson again, “How’s Grace?”

The man in the suit grinned, “She’s great! She met a lovely girl here in Storybrooke, which has made her a lot happier than before.”

Alice almost squealed with excitement, but held it in with only a foot tap, “That’s great! I’ve got a girlfriend back home. Her name is Margot and she’s also my best friend.” The blonde explained as she got lost in a daydream.

Before she could get sucked into it completely, David cleared his throat and stood up after placing his napkin on the plate, “Speaking of _back home_ , I suggest you start your journey. Wouldn’t wanna keep Margot waiting, would we?” The man suggested with a small smile.

The younger blonde’s eyes widened as she looked from David to Jefferson, “But, Jefferson, I don’t wanna go back.” She pouted before looking down.

Jefferson titled Alice’s head up with his finger, “Hey, look at me.” He whispered, and when she did, he continued, “I’ll come to visit you soon. Grace would be overjoyed to see you again.” He smiled reassuringly, “We can make it a family trip.”

Alice’s pout turned into a grin, “Really? You’ll absolutely love Margot! She’s amazing!” The blonde gushed before hugging him once more, “Goodbye, Jefferson, I’ll see you soon.”

The dark-haired man hugged her back, “Goodbye, Alice.” He then kissed her on the head before pulling away, “I can’t wait for the trip.” He smiled.

The young woman tapped her foot again, “Me neither!” She then bounded out the door, ready to set out to see Margot again.

David put a hand on the Hatter’s shoulder, “You’ve made that young woman’s day, Jefferson. I hope you’re proud.”

The man smiled as his eyes lit up, “I am. I’m so proud of her.”

Emma smiled softly, “Thank you, Jefferson.”

A small blush crept upon his cheeks, “Thanks, Emma.”

The two stared a second longer before Emma followed the bouncing blonde who visited Wonderland.

As Emma stepped outside, a gust of wind flew past her, and then she saw Alice, beginning to walk out of town with a wide grin on her face, “Be safe, kid.” She whispered before turning around to meet with her father.

_Alice grinned as she took a “sip” of her imaginary tea, “This is delicious, Grace.” She complimented as her eyes widened._

_The little girl grinned, “Thank you, Alice.”_

_At that moment, the two built an unbreakable bond, that would last no matter what realm they were in, and the same went with the Mad Hatter as well._


End file.
